No Longer A 'Stray'
by H. Cow
Summary: Sequel to 'Of Wolves and Ninjas' The new leader of Kia's village is worse than the last one. Kakashi is sent to retrieve her and those loyal to her, but will they make it back? KakaxOC, Lemon later on


It's here! It's here! The sequel! Sorry it took so long... school's more hectic this year than the previous. Anyway, as always, read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would spend all my time trying to get Kakashi to come to life, and wouldn't bother to publish it.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei? Hey! Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?"

The silver haired jonin turned his head to look at his three students, gathered around him with concerned expressions.

_Damn it._ He had been spacing out again.

"Oh. What was that again, Naruto?"

"I was asking what our next mission will be."

"I'm not sure. Tsunade-sama just told us to rest up a bit, so it will probably involve travel…"

The three 16-year-olds exchanged glances, a silent conversation flickering between them.

"What's up?" asked Kakashi, forcing them to nominate a spokesperson.

"Well sensei…" Sakura began," It's just that you haven't been very… focused lately. Is… is anything wrong?"

He forced his eye to crinkle into a smile.

"No, no, not at all… Don't you have some targets to beat up?" he asked, motioning to the wooden dummies they had set up in the training area.

The three unconvinced shinobi returned to their target practice, as their sensei returned to his former train of thought.

_Kia._

--------------three months earlier-------------

"Hokage-sama?"

"Hm? Why are you still here, Kakashi?"

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye-contact.

"Um, well… I was wondering if I could have a week or two off, you know, now that we're in a time of peace and such…" He sounded pathetic, and he knew it.

His leader pushed back from her paper-strewn desk and surveyed him. After a moment of silence, she spoke up.

"What would you use that time for?" Her eyes were expressionless.

"I… uh… wanted to go…" his voice trailed off into inaudible mumbles.

"What was that?"

"I wanted to go pay a visit to the Village Hidden in the Valley. You know, to make sure they were doing fine after the flood."

"Hmmm. There really is no need for that; we've been keeping tabs with them via bird messengers. I can assure you that they are doing well." Whatever his real reason, she was going to have to pry it out of him. Kakashi didn't usually keep secrets from her like this.

"They've been known to not share their hardships with other villages due to pride. I just want to-"

"Kakashi, you know very well that we have operatives in the village keeping an eye on them. You're wasting my time with this request. Unless you have another reason…"

He shifted nervously, refusing to look her in the eyes. She could have sworn that the visible part of his face was turning slightly pink.

"I… wanted to… see her again…" Again, his voice was incredibly timid.

Tsunade arched her eyebrows.

"Her?"

"…Kia. The Okami girl…"

Now he was really red. She smirked at him.

"Really? Why do you want to see her so badly?"

"…We've been writing to each other… she hasn't been replying lately…"

"Hmm. You've been paying a lot of attention to her village lately. Anything between the two of you that I should know about?"

"We're, um… we're sort of… well… engaged…" He looked like he was going to dig a hole in the floor to hide in.

The Hokage's eyebrows flew up in shock. _So years of hardship left him with a heart after all. _Sympathy raked through her expression.

"I'm so sorry, Kakashi, but I can't send you out there quite yet. I'll try to get you to the Valley as soon as possible."

He looked down, shuffling his feat.

"Thank you for this, Tsunade-sama. It means a lot to me." _Poor kid, _she thought as he silently slunk out of the room, _he finally fell in love and can't even see her that often._

* * *

At the present time, the copy-nin was looking just as downcast. His hopeless situation had grown even more so in the months since his confession to Tsunade. He sighed as he noticed the messenger falcon summoning him to the village headquarters. More hopeless by far.

* * *

At the time of his first meeting, he was merely worried that she had been injured on a mission and was unable to reply to his letters. That seemed the only possible explanation for the situation. The times were of peace in Konoha; Sasuke had returned, with Orochimaru and Akatsuki soundly defeated, and the curse mark completely removed, his revenge against his brother completely fulfilled. Two days after Kakashi's meeting with the Hokage, the silver-haired shinobi was in the missions report room, handing the record of his team's work to the desk workers.

Shizune marched into the room with the air that told everyone that she was on a mission for Tsunade. Spotting Kakashi, she approached him.

"Kakashi-san. Tsunade-sama sent me to tell you that she wanted to see you. Something about the Village Hidden in the Vall- HEY!"

He rushed past her before she could finish her sentence, accidentally knocking over the papers in her hand as he went.

At the door to her office, he pushed open the door, hope and excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Hokage-sama, you wanted to see me?"

The happiness drained from his one visible eye as he registered her expression. In one hand, she held a piece of paper, studying it grimly; in the other, she held a drained cup of sake. She wasn't hiding her alcohol. Never a good sign. _No. No, no, no, no, NO!_

She looked up at his now panicked face.

"She's in good health, Kakashi. Sit down."

He cautiously sat, worried that his legs would give way.

"We just received this letter from The Valley. They've cut off all communications and trade with Leaf, and taken away our ally status. We're calling in all of our undercover operatives for the moment."

His eyes went wide again.

"She wouldn't agree with this! She's always looked up to the way our Village works! The only reason she would stay is because she wants to make sure her pack and friends are safe! You have to-"

"Kakashi!" Her snapped interruption made him flinch. She softened her voice. "I believe you."

His eyes were still wide, but the grip on his chair relaxed ever-so-slightly.

The Hokage sighed.

"This does, however, make your situation much more complex."

The copy-nin nodded.

"Is there any question, whatsoever, of where her loyalties lie?"

"No, Hokage-sama. She's loyal to her pack, and she'd do anything to insure the safety of the ones whom she loves. If she wasn't worried about them, I'm positive that she would have tried to contact me."

"You want her here."

His expression was pure, grim sincerity.

"More than anything in the world."

"You always emphasize how protective she is. Even of the people who at one time wanted her dead."

Kakashi looked down slightly.

"It's part of her nature."

"Her nature?"

"As a wolf. She was raised by them. She holds their values."

"Something tells me that it's a bit more than that."

The copy-nin seemed determined to not meet her eyes.

"Kakashi," Tsunade sighed, "if I'm ever to accept her into this village, I have to know whether or not she can be trusted." She held up a hand to stop his protest. "This includes knowing as much as possible about her and her abilities."

He still hesitated.

"She doesn't like to talk about it much. She's afraid of what others think… it's the reason she was exiled by her father in the first place."

"Her _father_ was a sexist pig, afraid of any female who had the potential to out match him."

"…"

"Kakashi, I need to know this."

"She didn't even tell me. She wanted to, but she was afraid that I would be like the rest of them."

"Did you reject her?"

"No."

"Was there reasonable cause to reject her?"

"No! But-"

"Then tell me, Kakashi."

He looked down, his eye sad, as if he were betraying her, as if he was as afraid of rejection as she was.

"She's a Jinchuuriki."

The older woman's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.

"What?" she breathed.

"But it's not like the others! She has control over him, and he's more of a protective spirit than a de-"

"Kakashi! Sit down." He hadn't even noticed that he had jumped up in Kia's defense.

"Jinchuuriki! Kami, Kakashi. That's the sort of thing that you need to write on your missions reports." She shook her head and got up to pace around the room. "Which bijuu is inside of her?"

"The Sanbi, a three tailed wolf. It's sealed by a bandage around a mark on her upper left arm."

"How did you find out about this?"

"I… sort of… unsealed it when she was asleep…"

She raised an eyebrow.

"And when did you happen to have the chance to see her bare arm when she was asleep?"

The copy-nin coughed guiltily. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Bijuu. Kuzo." Kakashi seemed to sink into his chair, hurt and helpless expression on his face. "Now we _need_ to get her on our side."

"What?" he choked out.

"An enemy with a Jinchuuriki who's only with them to protect a few people and wolves? It's too good of an opportunity to pass up. And what if they find out? They probably know that she's questioning whether or not to stick around. One threat to someone she cares about, and they could have a dangerous weapon on their side."

"So you'll let her live here?"

"If we can get her out with out a hassle, of course."

The jonin leapt up to ferociously hug the village leader in gratitude.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama!"

"Calm down, calm down. It hasn't happened yet. This will take a while."

"I understand!"

"Sure you do," she mumbled as he raced out the door in joy.

* * *

But it had been months since that meeting, and the situation had grown more dire each day. ANBU operatives sent to spy on the village were sent back with serious injuries, stories of close calls, and in body bags. The new leader of the Valley was not so easily slipped by as the older one had been.

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked towards the impressive double doors of the Hokage's office. Each time he had been summoned lately had pushed back the day that he might see Kia further and further. If he wasn't so damn head-over-heels for her, he would have given up hope long ago. But he couldn't. Not now. She needed him, and he would come to her aid, no matter how long it took.

Pushing open one of the heavy doors, he was greeted by the sight of an extremely nervous ANBU black op. Curious, he took his place next to the jumpy man and addressed Tsunade.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Kakashi." She turned to the other man, "I want you to repeat everything you just told me."

He nodded, his eyes flicking to Kakashi from behind his mask, and began.

"I had entered the outer village perimeter at about 21:00, and proceeded to the check point, as planned. I was meant to meet ANBU Tiger in a clearing about a half mile from the inner village walls. I waited for him for an hour, but he didn't show up. I was about to leave, but…"

"But?" prompted the Hokage.

"I was jumped. She came out of nowhere, and was faster than most ANBU, myself included. She was tall, medium length brown or dirty-blonde hair, but that's about all I could discern; she was wearing baggy clothing and a mask. Oh, and a collar for some reason. I couldn't read the tag in the dark."

Throughout the ANBU's description, Kakashi's heart seemed to slow to a halt. He knew what word was carved into the silver tag around her neck.

_Kia._

"She could have killed me. Very easily. She preformed some type of binding jutsu that I'm not familiar with. Black restraints just curled around me out of nowhere." _Dark type, immobile seal. _"I couldn't move an inch. She just watched me, and then she… she…"

"What did she do?"

"She removed my mask." The operative said this at a whisper. To ANBU, the removal of a mask was a worse punishment than rape. It meant that the operative was completely helpless, weak, and defeated. _I probably should tell her about that for future reference. _"I'm sorry I failed you, Hokage-sama," he half sobbed.

The older woman rolled her eyes.

"You haven't failed me, Owl. There will be no reprimand for this incident. The woman you met with is merely unfamiliar with our customs. Go on."

He took a deep breath, unconvinced that there was no shame in his 'failure.'

"She just stared off into the sky for a while, and asked me if I thought it was a nice day."

"How'd she say it? Her exact words?" ANBU Owl jerked his head up at Kakashi; it was the first time he had spoken since entering the room.

"Um… nice weather today, isn't it?" The silver-haired ninja's heart jumped.

"I didn't answer, so she answered herself. 'Yes. We should be able to see the moon tonight.' It was the night of the new moon, so I assume that it was meant to be some sort of code. She said that the moon hadn't shown its face in a while. She looked at me then, and told me that Tiger was dead. She apologized for not being able to do anything about it, said she was out of town.

"Then, it got weird. The binds on my arms went away, so I could sit up. She said, 'tell Kakashi that I'd like to take him up on his offer, if it's still in place. The pack can move on its own, but I'll need an escort for 20. He knows where to find me.' And she left. In a minute, I could move my legs, and I ran back here."

"Thank you, Owl, you're dismissed. And don't you dare beat yourself up about the mask."

He nodded hesitantly, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke and grey feathers.

"Well, Kakashi, it seems that my plans for you have been sped up and made quite a bit easier. I was planning to send you out next week to retrieve her, but she beat me to it. I think I'm going to like this one."

Kakashi, still in a state of shock, could only grin beneath his mask. His heart beat had long since returned to its normal rate and passed it. _It's finally happening. It's finally reality._

Take your team, and head out. You should be able to get there by tomorrow evening. Don't rush it. You'll need the energy to get back. You're dismissed," but she was already speaking to a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Yeah, yeah. I know. I rushed this one. Oh well. At least it's up. Review, please. I hope that I can get the next chapter up soon, but then again, I said that about this whole story. Maybe if you reviewed, I would get the chapters written sooner... 


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